preparation of h-zsm-5 nano-zeolite using mixed template method and its activity evaluation for ethanol to dme reaction

h-zsm-5 nano-zeolites were synthesized by hydrothermal method using tetrapropylammonium hydroxide (tpaoh) as a template in the presence of various tpabr concentrations. the effect of different tpabr/tpaoh molar ratios was studied on the catalytic performance of dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether (dme) in a fixed bed reactor under the same operating conditions (t=300°c, p=1 atm, and whsv=26 h−1). the prepared catalysts were characterized by xrd, sem, bet and nh3-tpd. the characterization results showedthat the crystal sizes of the catalysts enlarge by increasing the concentration of tpabrin the synthesis reaction mixture. it was observed that h-form zeolite catalysts were active and selective for dme synthesis. these catalysts showed a high methanol conversion and also very high dme selectivity. it was found that by addition of up to 10 mole% tpabr in the synthesis reaction mixture, no significant effect was observed on the physical and chemical properties and catalytic activity of prepared catalysts.